I looked at Mabel, Dipper, and Soos carefully.
"...kids...? What are you guys doing here? What about the monster picture?" I called out to the kids, maintaining my distance.
My breathing felt labored, like I was still submerged in the water.
-Tick!
"Well, Ray. We thought we should spend some more time with our family," Mabel replied, stepping off the boat, her clothes dripping wet but seemingly unfazed.
-Tick!
Something was definitely wrong. Why was it so hard to breathe? And why... was I feeling danger emanating from the kids?
"...Stay back, Mabel."
"Ray."
"I SAID STAY BACK!"
I struggled to move, but my legs were stuck in what felt like marshy ground. Wait, marsh? This didn't make sense; I had been in the water, unable to touch the bottom...!
"r..AYYYYYY"
"HAHAHAA"
Whatever was happening, it was clear that these were not the real kids, or Soos, or the boat, or Dipper—they were distorted, melting, and eerily laughing at me.
But I think... I think I was beginning to understand what was going on.
"RAYY! # %#!%!"
The Mabel-lookalike grabbed my neck, choking me, and screeched in an incomprehensible language.
...So, this is all...
"Just fake. You're lying."
"... # %..?!"
"It's not real, is it? The fish monster, the disgusting scent, the vine with teeth, the acidic water. It's all fake, an illusion so well-made that it deceived all my senses."
Fake Mabel appeared genuinely surprised.
...Yes, I think I had figured it out. Something had been off right from the start, and I should have realized it.
When Stan and I were on the boat, only I had smelled that putrid, rotting stench. Stan hadn't sensed it at all, at least not until I had caught that melting fish.
It had all been an illusion. The lake monster's power was in creating illusions, making us believe we were hurt, leading us to dangerous situations that could actually harm us. It had hidden itself in the water, making it appear acidic.
Because it was weak. Once the illusion was shattered, it became vulnerable.
Now, as I swam near it, it was trying to make me think I was above the surface while I was drowning, which was why it had been so hard to breathe.
And the simplest way to break an illusion was to... acknowledge it.
"RAYYYYYYYYYY!"
Fake Mabel charged at me, flanked by fake Soos and fake Dipper. They all melted and merged into a grotesque amalgamation, but I just stared at them.
...They weren't real. Once I acknowledged that, they couldn't harm me.
"Get lost."
"NOOOOO!...!"
The illusion shattered. Fake Mabel, Dipper, and Soos disappeared. And I was in the water once again, but this time, the water wasn't acidic. The illusion was gone. All my fake burns were gone.
"oorghrrhr...!"
...And I was craving, craving for oxygen. It was my limit. My brain felt fuzzy, and my whole body was desperate to reach the surface and breathe. But... I needed to find it, the lake monster, right now.
It had just unleashed an illusion, something it had never done before. It had to be close, lurking in the water nearby. I couldn't let it get away this time.
As I scanned the murky water, there it was, a ghostly figure of a woman standing tall in the shallows. This was it. I was going to finish it. With my heart pounding like a drum, I charged at the eerie figure in the water, lunging for its neck.
The lake monster fought back with a vengeance, conjuring illusions faster than I could blink. My surroundings twisted and contorted, monstrous forms and horrifying sights closing in from all sides. Panic gnawed at me as I struggled to make sense of what was real and what wasn't.
"I won't fall for your tricks!" I shouted, my voice echoing in the surreal nightmare around me.
Thinking on my feet, I bit my tongue so hard it bled. Pain, the most visceral and undeniable sensation, broke through the illusions like a wrecking ball. With newfound clarity, I managed to grab hold of the lake monster's neck again. Its face contorted in surprise and anger.
"You're not getting away this time!" I hissed through clenched teeth.
The lake monster realized that things were going south, and it wasn't about to go down without a fight. Its watery form surged with rage, and its fingers turned into gnarled claws, digging into my arms.
Desperation filled its eyes as it tried to drag me deeper into the water, aiming to suffocate me. My lungs burned for air, and my vision started to blur. But I couldn't give in, not now.
Summoning every last ounce of strength, I sank my teeth into its neck, tasting the brackish water and something far fouler. It let out a gurgled, otherworldly scream that sent shivers down my spine.
As the life drained from the lake monster, I kicked my way to the surface, gasping for air. Everything remained a swirling maelstrom of illusions, and I felt myself slipping away. The world spun around me, and I could barely make out the image of Stan rushing towards me on the island shore, his face a mask of sheer concern.
"..Ay..Ra...!"
And then, darkness claimed me.
...please, don't die, me. I don't wanna do this all again..
"Ray! Ray! Kid! Wake up!"
"...Mr..Pines."
When I finally managed to open my eyes, I found myself on the boat, and the first thing that struck me as odd was that the boat seemed perfectly intact. My memory was fuzzy, but I distinctly recalled it being broken during the struggle with the lake monster.
"Mr..Pines? What..happened?"
"Kid, you've fished something so big, you were literally dragged into the water! Shame you didn't get to catch it," Stan exclaimed.
I blinked, my head pounding, my thoughts still hazy. Stan appeared perfectly ordinary, with no signs of trauma or danger.
Yet, something felt off, and it wasn't just the disorientation of waking up after a near-death experience.
"Mr. Pines? When did all of this happen?" I managed to ask.
"Right after I caught the trout. What, did you lose your memory or something?" Stan replied.
Confusion swirled within me as I followed Stan's gaze to the floor of the boat. There, bathed in the faint light, lay a perfectly ordinary Rainbow trout.
But wait. That trout. Stan had caught it before the lake monster had emerged. It was a genuine fish, not some monstrous illusion. I reached out and touched it, confirming its realness. It was fresh, slick to the touch, and entirely devoid of the gooey, grotesque qualities of the monsters I had fought.
Realization dawned on me. The illusion had started right after that catch. It had ensnared me, making me believe I was locked in a life-or-death struggle with the lake monster for what felt like hours, fighting to survive. But for Stan, it had merely seemed like I'd been pulled into the water by the fish.
My mouth still tingled with the metallic taste of the lake monster's blood, a grim reminder that it had been all too real. The lake monster itself wasn't an illusion, but its power to manipulate our perceptions had been its most terrifying weapon.
"...I'm cold, Mr. Pines. Let's head back to the dock and just wait for the kids."
"Huh? Weren't you just talking about responsibility?"
"...They'll be fine."
"How do you know?"
"..I just know."
"Ha. Bland kid."
The ticking of the memento mori ceased to resonate so loudly, and my senses calmed... telling me to the absence of danger.
...Now, all I had to do was prepare to greet the kids when they returned.